As the title suggests I was wondering which wind graph or other wind reading system is best to use to gain an idea of both current and predicted winds at Sandy Point and Inveloch, Victoria. I haven't been to either but would like to have an option when the wind sucks in Port Phillip Bay. At the same time I don't want to make the 2 hour trip only to find no wind.

Thanks ahead of time.

edit: ok I found this site
http://ozforecast.com.au/cgi-bin/weatherwrap.cgi?location=Sandy%20Point.VIC
You can enter whatever town and get a 2 hourly wind prediction but it seems fairly inaccurate. It appears to predict half the knots that BOM does when I tested it on a few different towns. Not sure where they get their data from. Let me know if you have something more reliable.

I am not sure about Sandy Point but no doubt there are others that can point you in the right direction but for Inverloch I use this site as Pound Creek is very close.
www.eldersweather.com.au/local-forecast/vic/pound-creek

Windguru for me as the main one.www.windguru.cz and B.O.M,Weatherzone and Buoyweather as back ups.

There is no one 'best' guide for Sandy Point that I have found. Personally, I use a range of sources of info:
The predictions from 'Windfinder' are quite reliable most of the time, at least to a couple of days out.
'Windguru' tends to under estimate from West to South West directions but Mathews modification is usually pretty close.
The new 'Predictwind' service is excellent as well.
Other computer models may be found on Weatherzone that are also very good indicators.
The things to remember about computer models is that the closer you are to the prediction time, the better they are. Also, the better different models agree, the better they are probably predicting for that time and place.

For current conditions I look at a combination of the reports from Wilsons Prom, Yarram and South Channel in combination with looking at the isobar maps to get an idea of what Sandy is like. It is usually not the same as any of those stations but experience can help you see a pattern and make a judgment.
eg. For stable summer highs the South Channel readings are often pretty close to Sandy Point. The Prom readings are about 30% higher than Sandy on West to South Westerlies but pretty close on summer Easterlies.
Yarram is the next closest and being on the coastal plain it is a very good indicator in easterlies as well but usually a bit under the winds at Sandy and well under on West to SW

Andrew Watkins website also has some excellent links and resources for current readings and forecasts as well.

Hope this helps.

For some reason, probably spam filters, I could not add all the links into the above post. I will try to put them here.

www.windfinder.com/forecast/wilsons_promontory

www.windguru.cz

www.weatherzone.com.au/

www.earthsci.unimelb.edu.au/~awatkins/bay.html

This one is not too bad either. Click on the Wilson's Prom red dot:

www.buoyweather.com/wxnav6.jsp?region=AS&program=Maps

Thanks guys, great links.

Sailquik I know what you mean about using a number of resources and over time interpreting to fit the location. I live in Mornington and have to make a judgement of wind based on south channel and fawkner beacon, while frankston, although close, is fairly inaccurate on any direction but westerlies because of all the cliffs. It's only time an experience that allow you to interpret well. So I appreciate the insights of people who have sailed there regularly.

Also what are the best wind directions for Inverloch and Sandy Point or are they sailable in any direction?

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Leman said...

Thanks guys, great links.

So what are the best wind directions for Inverloch and Sandy Point or are they sailable in any direction?

For Sandy Point:

Sailing in the inlet:-

Between West and South. WSW-SW being pretty much ideal in anything but really high tides.

East to North East is great on Low tides when the east bank of the main channel is exposed.

North West to WNW can be OK but only on a very low tide up the Yanakie Channel if the wind is not too gusty (It usually is too gusty).

The worst wind direction is West to WNW. It is gusty off the land and does not offer good places to sail. It can be good in the surf though.

Sailing in the ocean surf:-

North West and South East are directly cross shore at the Sandy Point SLSC

Easterly is cross offshore and common in summer. North East is directly offshore and too offshore for wave sailing and the easterlies often swing NE in summer.

At 'The Gap', further west around the bay near the Waratah township, Easterlies and Westerlies are pretty close to cross shore and NE can sometimes be surf sailable.

For Inverloch (based on my experiences there) sailing out from the Angling club or futher down near the Jetty.

Westerly to Southerly winds - SW being ideal.

I have also sailed the inlet on a SE-E direction which wasn't ideal, but better than staying dry.

Thanks again,

Only bad thing you guys have told me is that both are good on SW, which is is probably ideal direction at home. Can I expect higher winds there if it is just slightly under here? The idea is to go there when it is less than ideal here.

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Leman said...

Thanks again,

Only bad thing you guys have told me is that both are good on SW, which is is probably ideal direction at home. Can I expect higher winds there if it is just slightly under here? The idea is to go there when it is less than ideal here.

Hey! It's AWAYS windier at Sandy Point!!!!!!!

Anyhow, which do you prefer. Windy SW with 2 ft chop on top of a 4 ft bay swell, or 2cm ripples on top of pure glass!